LATEST NEW YORK TRIP: WTC, WAR HORSE, SPIDER-MAN,

Charles Amara
Linc: Exploring Museums of New York
Dr. Baxter
10/30/2011

On Saturday 29, 2011 the Exploring Museums of New York class travelled to New York City for a very interesting day of learning and entertainment by attending the Twin Towers and the City exhibition, as well as two Broadway musical features War Horse and Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark. From the start both the weather and climate did nothing but bring a damper on the fun. The ungainly wind evolved into cold rain and snow that caused students to put on their gloves and take out their umbrellas. However the positives of the trip proved to outmatch Mother Nature. The first stop of the trip was made at the Museum of the City of New York, where the works of Camilo Jose Vergara transformed from extraordinary photos to a time vault. The photo exhibit was very grabbing because it was a distinctive look at the twin Towers of New York City. Shots of the towers through the years made the exhibit stand out from the fact that the pictures were not murals or canvas creations but ordinary pictures taken from the same locations at different points of time. An example of Vergara’s work included the history behind the Twin Towers, and their creation by a designer none other than Minoru Yamasaki. The third floor of 1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street was filled with photos of hard to reach angles and beautiful perfection of locations and good use of space. Some of the photos range from the early 1960’s through September 11, 2001 when the towers fell. Some of the photos create an emotional connection with those who have lived in the city and gone through the social changes that New York brings, meaning the towers represent more than just buildings. The towers represent a social identity, an identity known as the big apple.

After the first swing at the Museum of the City of New York, the class had a great opportunity to get their imaginations rubbed with the help of War Horse. The musical, which took place at the grand locations known as the Lincoln Center Theatre at 150 West 65th Street, was a very surreal yet live performance. Presented with horses, war and the turmoil of friendship, War Horse was a spectacular way for people to look at the issues of conflict among humans and animals. The idea is that no live horses are used in the musical, only actors, props, and puppets.. At first speculations were made about the reality of the horses and how they would interrupt the thinking process of the viewers. However the originative designs created such a close connection because they were not simply puppets. The animals were breathing and making sounds. The animals, not puppets, were cleaver and very different from the average string puppets. Not only did the performance of the animals superb, but the story itself was something one could get very close with. The connection between the audiences and the story line made War Horse a must see musical.

After the beautiful message of friendship and ideality in War Horse took place, the class attended the Broadway sensation Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark. Logically one thinks of comics and classic television shows when hearing Spider-Man. Although the musical stuck to some of the original Spidey foundations, it was mostly judge based on the music created by Bono of the music group U2. A lot of the students complained that the music was not up to par with what they were expecting. In some ways the fact that Bono created the score greatly elevates the expectations of what one could expect, and the truth is that the music is important but the overall experience is more important. The play brought great interactivity with the audience, mostly children and teens who found joy in seeing a man swinging from the balcony section. The musical focused on great design and accuracy for all the action events. Anything could have happened to the actors at any time, so it is very important to look at the aspect of art that deals with precision and mastery of one’s environment. The sets were of course very vibrant and very comic bookish, but this was all a part of the plan. The stage was rotating at different scenes, and a great deal of ropes and heights were used for the creation. All together the musical was exciting because of its buzz and attention making it a must see. But overall it was a simple musical and just another Broadway sensation. In conclusion, Wicked would have had a greater chance of “casting a spell” on the audience.

Trip one to the city...

First adventure into New York City with Moravian it was an interesting experience. I've traveled to the city before but this time it was a new scenario: we arrived and were thrown out to seek answers to the questions on our scavenger hunts. There were so many questions and we had to creatively think on how to get the answers. My group sat in a Starbucks and researched the answers using our cell phones. Then we went to double-check that we were correct by locating each of the desired locations. New York City is a HUGE place; and by huge I also mean confusing, after finding the first spot we went to look for another two blocks up in the same number range (e.g. 234 45th street to 264 47th street) only to discover that it was in the opposite direction. We finished with plenty of time before going to view Follies.

Now a folly, according to dictionary.com, is the state or quality of being foolish. The show, starring Bernadette Peters, is about a group of middle-aged women who come together to relive their prime years. With this, Bernadette's role also reencounters the man she loved but he didn't love her back (and still doesn't). Instead, she settled and married Buddy, though she still has feelings for Ben. She reconnects and leaves her husband for Ben. Meanwhile, Ben doesn't know what he wants after telling his wife he no longer needs her. Now, I'm not going to give away the whole show (what fun would that be?!) but all four main character basically make foolish decisions throughout the show that might have been avoided had they not gone to the reunion in the first place. Now, this was my first real Broadway show but overall it was pretty good. For the first time going, it was a fun time and a learning experience.

Leaving Traces and Twirling our Hair

September 10th marks the second adventure in New York for 6H! (and friends)

After waking up again at 6a.m, what did we do this time?

Around the city...

We visited the Tenement Museum in the morning. No, it doesn't have anything to do with Broadway, but I found it pretty educational. Life in New York in the early 1900s was not all so Broadway- glamorous everywhere.

After the tour, we had free time in Little Italy--my first time there. Everyone stopped for lunch...and yes, we got cannolis. Yum! It started to rain a bit. Good thing I had an umbrella! With everyone combined, we walked around with a huge, colorful shield above our heads. Thankfully the rain didn't last long as we made our way to our first show of the afternoon~

TRACES

3pm, it's time to see Traces, an off-Broadway acrobatic performance. I knew very little about it, but once the show started, was educated very quickly! The seven performers stepped right into action within their opening number:

And they continued to impress the audience with multiple numbers, comical moments, and their "don't give up" attitude. I was blown away! I would absolutely see this again. The stunts ranged in so many ways--using furniture, poles, matts, rings...or even just dancing beautifully with each other.

HAIR

After walking from 17th to 44th street so we knew where the next theatre was, we had some free time. The streets were slowly becoming more and more crowded. Tired and hungry, a few friends and I stopped for dinner at T.G.I Fridays, and could all but rave about the food! It was actually really, really good. Happy with full tummies, we ventured around...

3 whole floors of Forever 21, making notes of fashionable clothing to buy next time we're around.

Still having some time left before the show, we stopped in another store. The Disney Store. Love! I felt like a kid again, as I usually do, being a major Disney fan. Reluctant to leave, we made it to the St James theatre.

I was constantly reminded to prepare myself for Hair. Easy to know why, after seeing it. I can imagine how controversial the show must have been in the 70's.

The vocals, on one hand, were stunning. Everyone was on-point and brought a great value of tones to the songs.

The sets of course were colorful, and I thought it was great how the band was set up on pieces of the stage itself, instead of in a pit in front of the stage!

It was the closing night of Hair. The audience was exhilarated and constantly cheering long and loud, encouraging their beloved performers. It was something special, and wonderful to be apart of.